Rangeland resource assessment in the Aqmola region of Kazakhstan

Authors: SPAETH, KENNETH - Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS, USDA); WELTZ, MARK - Retired ARS Employee; Nesbit, Jason; QI, JIAGUO - Michigan State University; Rutherford, William; Williams, Christopher; Toledo, David; Newingham, Beth; ISKAKOVA, GULNAZ - Kazakh National Agrarian University; KUSSAINOVA, MAIRA - Michigan State University; YESPOLOV, TLEKLES - Kazakh National Agrarian University

Submitted to: Rangeland Ecology and Management
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/4/2024
Publication Date: 1/25/2025
Citation: Spaeth, K.E., Weltz, M.A., Nesbit, J.E., Qi, J., Rutherford, W.A., Williams, C.J., Toledo, D.N., Newingham, B.A., Iskakova, G., Kussainova, M., Yespolov, T. 2025. Rangeland resource assessment in Aqmola Region of Kazakhstan. Rangeland Ecology and Management. 98:(389-398). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rama.2024.09.004.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rama.2024.09.004

Interpretive Summary: The people and government of the Republic of Kazakhstan in central Eurasia require systematic knowledge of plant community responses to land use, natural disturbances, and management practices to enhance, manage, and sustain the country’s rangeland ecosystems. In this study, rangeland sites within the Aqmola region, Kazakhstan, were assessed to develop a framework for rangeland plant community characterization and respective community responses to land use, disturbances, and management. A rangeland resource inventory (partially modelled after the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service’s National Resources Inventory) sampled 51 locations across the Aqmola region. Field collected data were used to identify unique plant community assemblages and dynamics and to develop Ecological Site Descripitions for guiding management. The established framework provides Kazakhstan’s people and government a basis for characterizing select plant communities on rangelands there and developing a more comprehensive database of Ecological Sites Descriptions for the management of the country’s rangelands. The study exemplifies how international collaboration between rangeland professionals can effectively inform both science and management of rangeland ecosystems around the world.

Technical Abstract: The Republic of Kazakhstan in central Eurasia is the ninth largest country in the world (2.7 million km2) and ranks fifth internationally in terms of land area of rangeland and pastureland. The spatial and temporal variability of rangeland conditions in Kazakhstan are not specifically known. The Kazakhstan government and private land managers there require systematic knowledge of plant community dynamics and land use impacts to enhance, manage, and sustain the country’s rangelands. In this study, rangeland sites from within the Aqmola region, Kazakhstan, were assessed to produce a framework for future rangeland monitoring and ecological site and state-and-transition model development. A rangeland resource inventory (partially modelled after the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service’s National Resources Inventory) sampled 51 locations across the Aqmola region. Classification and ordination of field-collected data were used to identify unique plant groupings or clusters and respective provisional ecological sites. Ecological associations and sites were developed and populated with a prototypic state-and-transition model inclusive of five unique ecological states and respective disturbance/restoration transition pathways. The study exemplifies international collaboration between USA and Kazakhstan rangeland professionals to develop a land management framework to conserve and sustain Kazakhstan rangelands.